U.S. patent application number 14/921172 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-30 for bicycle-carrying device for motor-vehicles.
The applicant listed for this patent is Fabio Pedrini. Invention is credited to Fabio Pedrini.
Application Number | 20160185304 14/921172 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52444586 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160185304 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pedrini; Fabio |
June 30, 2016 |
Bicycle-Carrying Device For Motor-Vehicles
Abstract
A bicycle-carrying device for motor-vehicles comprises a support
structure defining a main axis, and a plurality of legs carried by
the support structure for abutment on the rear part of a
motor-vehicle. At least some of said legs are orientable around
said main axis. The device further comprises a plurality of arms
carried by the support structure for supporting one or more
bicycles, and a plurality of belts or cables associated with the
bicycle-carrying device and each having a hook member for
engagement on the rear part of the motor-vehicle, for anchoring
said bicycle-carrying device to the motor-vehicle. At least some of
said legs have each a respective roll-up device for winding a belt
or cable around a respective winding axis. Each roll-up device is
arranged within an inner cavity of the respective leg with the
winding axis located at a position spaced apart from said main
axis.
Inventors: |
Pedrini; Fabio; (Bologna,
IT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Pedrini; Fabio |
Bologna |
|
IT |
|
|
Family ID: |
52444586 |
Appl. No.: |
14/921172 |
Filed: |
October 23, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/572 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 9/10 20130101; B60R
9/06 20130101; B60R 2011/004 20130101; B60R 2011/0059 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B60R 9/10 20060101
B60R009/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 24, 2014 |
IT |
TO2014A001103 |
Claims
1. Bicycle-carrying device for motor-vehicles, comprising: a
support structure, defining a main axis, a plurality of legs
carried by the support structure for abutment on the rear part of a
motor-vehicle, at least some of said legs being orientable around
said main axis, a plurality of arms carried by the support
structure, for supporting one or more bicycles, a plurality of
belts or cables associated with the bicycle-carrying device and
each having a hook member to be engaged on a motor-vehicle part,
for anchoring said bicycle-carrying device to the motor-vehicle, in
which said bicycle-carrying device comprises one or more roll-up
devices for winding said belts or cables around respective winding
axes, characterised in that at least some of said legs have
respective roll-up devices each arranged within an inner cavity of
the respective leg and having a winding axis located at a position
spaced apart from said main axis.
2. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 1, characterised in
that all said legs have respective roll-up devices each arranged
within an inner cavity of the leg with the winding axis located at
a position spaced apart from said main axis.
3. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised
in that said support structure comprises a shaft whose axis defines
said main axis and said legs and arms each have a hub mounted on a
respective portion of said shaft.
4. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 3, characterised in
that each roll-up device is provided within an inner cavity of a
respective leg at a position spaced apart from the respective
hub.
5. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 4, characterised in
that all said legs have roll-up devices each having an outlet for
the respective belt or cable which is arranged so that when the
belt or cable is pulled out from the roll-up device it extends in
line with the respective leg PA, substantially along a same plane
orthogonal to said main axis.
6. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 5, characterised in
that each leg is provided with a foot for abutment on the
motor-vehicle, said foot having two foot portions which spaced
apart from each other along a transverse direction, so that in the
mounted condition of said bicycle-carrying device on the
motor-vehicle the foot of each leg can be arranged with its two
portions on the two sides of the hook member carried by the belt or
cable associated with said leg, so that once engaged on the
motor-vehicle, said hook member prevents movements of the foot
along a transverse direction.
7. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 6, characterised in
that each roll-up device has two outlets located on two opposite
faces of the respective leg and adapted to be used selectively for
guiding the belt or cable out from said roll-up device respectively
adjacent to one or the other of said opposite faces.
8. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 1, characterised in
that each roll-up device is provided with a device for quick
retraction of the belt or cable.
9. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 1, characterised in
that each roll-up device comprises: a support casing, received
within said cavity of the leg with which it is associated, a reel
for winding the belt or cable rotatably supported by said casing
around said winding axis, at least one spring operatively
interposed between the casing and the reel for biasing the reel in
a direction for winding said belt or cable, a ratchet mechanism,
including: at least one toothed crown associated with said reel, a
pawl pivotally mounted on said casing and elastically biased into
engagement with said at least one toothed crown, so as to prevent a
rotation of the toothed crown in the direction for unwinding said
belt or cable, while leaving the toothed crown free of rotating in
the opposite direction, a tensioning member pivotally mounted on
said casing having an actuating lever and a toothed sector
associated with the actuating lever and engaging said at least one
toothed crown, said actuating lever being movable from a rest
position to a first operative position or tensioning position, for
rotating said toothed crown in the winding direction and causing a
tensioning of said belt or cable after that the respective hook
member has been engaged on the motor-vehicle, said actuating lever
being also movable from the rest position to a second operative
position or release position, located on the opposite side with
respect to said first operative position, for causing disengagement
of both said toothed sector and said pawl from said toothed
crown.
10. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 9, characterised in
that with each roll-up device there is associated a key-operated
release-inhibition device, for inhibiting a movement of said
actuating lever to the release position.
11. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 3, characterised in
that the hub of at least some of said legs and said arms is
provided with a clamping device for clamping the hub in a selected
mounted position over a portion of said shaft.
12. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 11, characterised in
that said clamping device comprises: a jaw pivotally mounted on the
hub of the respective arm or leg, for engagement of a portion of
said shaft, a locking lever pivotally mounted on the respective arm
or leg and carrying a cam member for pressing said jaw against said
shaft, said locking lever being movable from a release position to
a final locking position located beyond a dead centre position, so
as to prevent an undesired return of the locking lever to the
release position, a wedge-like intermediate member, interposed
between cooperating surfaces of said cam member and said jaw and
adjustable in position, for adjusting the clamping force of said
jaw.
13. Bicycle-carrying device according to claim 1, characterised in
that it comprises anchoring belts which are each armoured with a
plurality of steel cables.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to bicycle-carrying devices
for motor-vehicles, in particular of the type comprising: [0002] a
support structure, [0003] a plurality of legs carried by the
support structure for abutment on the rear part of a motor-vehicle,
[0004] a plurality of arms carried by the support structure for
supporting one or more bicycles, and [0005] a plurality of belts or
cables associated with the bicycle-carrying device and each having
a hook member for engagement on a motor-vehicle part, for anchoring
said bicycle-carrying device to the motor-vehicle.
[0006] In the field of bicycle-carrying devices of the type
indicated above, a solution conceived by the same inventor, which
was disclosed in EP 0 671 295 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,970, has
been marketed by the U.S. company SARIS under the trademark "Bones"
and has found widespread success. In this known solution, the above
mentioned support structure comprises a shaft whose axis defines
the above mentioned main axis. The above mentioned legs and arms
each have a hub mounted on a respective portion of this shaft.
[0007] Document WO 2011/038042 A1 discloses a bicycle-carrying
device of the above described type, which is provided with roll-up
devices arranged at the ends of the shaft carrying the legs and
arms, for winding the anchoring cables around a winding axis
coincident with the axis of the shaft. In this arrangement the
roll-up devices cannot be associated with the legs, since the hubs
of at least some of the legs are occupied by clamping devices for
clamping each hub on the support shaft.
Object of the Invention
[0008] The object of the present invention is that of providing a
bicycle-carrying device of the above indicated type in which:
[0009] the operations for mounting the device on the motor-vehicle
and for dismantling the device from the motor-vehicle are extremely
simple, easy and quick, [0010] a high stability is obtained of the
bicycle-carrying device during travel of the motor-vehicle, also
along the direction transverse to the median vertical plane of the
motor-vehicle, [0011] the device has an extremely simple and
functional structure and is adapted to assume a configuration of
minimum bulk when it is not used, [0012] a high safety is obtained
against a non-authorized removal of the bicycle-carrying device
from the motor-vehicle, [0013] it is possible for the device to be
reconfigured as a function of the shape of the motor-vehicle on
which it must be mounted, by simple and quick operations, [0014]
the roll-up devices are arranged so that they can be used easily,
while also enabling a quick retraction once the device has been
removed from the motor-vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] In view of achieving these and further objects, the
invention provides a bicycle-carrying device for motor-vehicles
comprising: [0016] a support structure, defining a main axis,
[0017] a plurality of legs carried by the support structure for
abutment on the rear part of a motor-vehicle, at least some of said
legs being orientable around said main axis, [0018] a plurality of
arms carried by the support structure, for supporting one or more
bicycles, [0019] a plurality of belts or cables associated with the
bicycle-carrying device and each having a hook member for
engagement on a motor-vehicle part, for anchoring said
bicycle-carrying device on the motor-vehicle, [0020] in which said
bicycle-carrying device comprises one or more roll-up devices for
winding said belts or cables around respective winding axes, [0021]
characterized in that at least some of said legs each have a
respective roll-up device arranged within an inner cavity of the
leg, and having a winding axis located at a position spaced apart
from said main axis.
[0022] Due to these features, each anchoring belt or cable can be
stored inside a respective leg of the bicycle-carrying device. At
the same time, since each roll-up device is arranged at a position
spaced apart from said main axis, it does not interfere with the
leg portion which is mounted on said support structure. As a
consequence, if this is desired, it is possible to provide all of
said legs of the bicycle-carrying device with respective roll-up
devices.
[0023] Thus, according to a preferred solution, all said legs have
respective roll-up devices each arranged within an inner cavity of
the respective leg, with the winding axis located at a position
spaced apart from said main axis.
[0024] One exemplary application which is particularly preferred is
that in which said support structure comprises a shaft whose axis
defines said main axis and said legs and said arms each have a hub
mounted on a respective portion of said shaft. In this case, each
roll-up device is arranged within an inner cavity of a respective
leg, at a position spaced apart from the respective hub.
[0025] Preferably, all the said legs have a roll-up device with an
outlet for the respective belt or cable arranged so that the belt
or cable pulled out from the roll-up device extends in line with
the respective leg, substantially in a same plane orthogonal to
said main axis.
[0026] In the preferred embodiment, each leg is provided with a
foot for abutment on the motor-vehicle, having two foot portions
which are spaced apart transversally from each other, so that in
the mounted condition of said bicycle-carrying device on the
motor-vehicle the foot of each leg can be arranged with its two
portions on the two sides of the hook member carried by the belt or
cable associated with said leg, so that once engaged on the
motor-vehicle, said hook member prevents movements of the foot
along the transverse direction.
[0027] Furthermore, preferably each roll-up device has two outlets
located on two opposite faces of the respective leg and adapted to
be selectively used for guiding the belt or cable pulled out from
said roll-up device respectively adjacent to one or the other of
said opposite faces.
[0028] According to a further feature, each roll-up device
comprises: [0029] a support casing received within said cavity of
the respective leg, [0030] a belt or cable winding reel, rotatably
supported by said casing around said winding axis, [0031] at least
one spring operatively interposed between the casing and the reel
for biasing the reel in a direction for winding said belt or cable,
and [0032] a ratchet mechanism including: [0033] at least one
toothed crown associated with said reel, [0034] a pawl pivotally
mounted on said casing and elastically biased into engagement with
said at least one toothed crown, so as to prevent a rotation of the
toothed crown in the direction for unwinding said belt or cable,
while leaving the toothed crown free to rotate in the opposite
direction, [0035] a tensioning member pivotally mounted on said
casing and having an actuating lever and a toothed sector
associated with the actuating lever and engaging said at least one
toothed crown, [0036] said actuating lever being movable from a
rest position to a first operative position or tensioning position,
for rotating said toothed crown in the winding direction and
causing a tensioning of said belt or cable after that the
respective hook member has been engaged on the motor-vehicle,
[0037] said actuating lever being also movable from the rest
position to a second operative position or release position,
located on the opposite side with respect to said first operative
position, for causing disengagement of both said toothed sector and
said pawl from said toothed crown.
[0038] The release position of said actuating lever can be used
either for quickly rewinding the belt after that the device has
been removed from the motor-vehicle, or for mounting the device on
the motor-vehicle more easily, by first engaging the hook members
of two belts on the motor-vehicle and then positioning the
bicycle-carrying device in the most suitable way, by holding the
levers of the two associated roll-up devices in the release
position, so as to enable free unwinding of the belts.
[0039] Preferably, with each roll-up device there is associated a
key-operated release-inhibition device, for inhibiting a movement
of said actuating lever towards the release position.
[0040] According to a further feature, the hub of at least some of
said legs and said arms is provided with a clamping device for
clamping the hub in a selected mounting position over a portion of
said shaft.
[0041] Preferably, said clamping device comprises: [0042] a jaw
pivotally mounted on the hub of the respective arm or leg, for
engagement of a portion of said shaft, [0043] a locking lever
pivotally mounted on the respective leg or arm and carrying a cam
member for pressing said jaw against said shaft, [0044] said
locking lever being movable from a release position to a final
locking position arranged beyond a dead centre position, so as to
prevent an undesired return of the locking lever to the release
position, [0045] a wedge-like intermediate member, interposed
between the cooperating surfaces of said cam member and said jaw,
said wedge-like intermediate member being adjustable in position,
for adjusting the jaw clamping force.
[0046] In a preferred embodiment anchoring belts are provided which
are each reinforced with a plurality of embedded steel cables.
[0047] Due to the above mentioned features, the bicycle-carrying
device according to the invention is extremely simple and easy to
use. As indicated, the operations for mounting the device on the
motor-vehicle are greatly facilitated and simplified. The operation
for removing the device from the motor-vehicle are also simple and
quick and once the device has been removed from the motor-vehicle
the anchoring belts can be stored quickly within the respective
roll-up devices, by holding the actuating levers in their release
positions.
[0048] The arrangement of the anchoring belts in lino with all the
respective legs provides a high stability of the device during
travel of the motor-vehicle, also with reference to undesired
movements along the transverse direction.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0049] Further features and advantages of the invention will become
readily apparent from the following description with reference to
the annexed drawings, given purely by way of non-limiting example,
in which:
[0050] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a
bicycle-carrying device according to the present invention,
[0051] FIG. 1A is a perspective exploded view of the
bicycle-carrying device of FIG. 1,
[0052] FIGS. 2-4 are further perspective views of the
bicycle-carrying device of FIG. 1,
[0053] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a leg forming part of the
bicycle-carrying device of FIG. 1,
[0054] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of
FIG. 5,
[0055] FIG. 6A shows the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 with the
leg in a different condition of use,
[0056] FIG. 7 is a view at an enlarged scale of a detail of FIG.
6,
[0057] FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view of a roll-up device
forming part of the bicycle-carrying device according to the
invention,
[0058] FIGS. 9-11 are views in cross-section and at an enlarged
scale of the roll-up device of FIG. 8, which show three different
operative conditions of the roll-up device,
[0059] FIGS. 12-14 show a clamping device forming part of the
bicycle-carrying device according to the invention, at an enlarged
scale, in three different operative conditions, and
[0060] FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a detail of an
arm forming part of the bicycle-carrying device according to the
invention, provided with an anti-theft device.
[0061] In FIGS. 1-4, reference numeral 1 generally designates a
preferred embodiment of a bicycle-carrying device according to the
invention.
[0062] In this embodiment, the bicycle-carrying device 1 comprises
a support structure constituted by a fluted shaft 2, for example
having a tubular body made of aluminium, which in the mounted
condition of the device 1 on the motor-vehicle is arranged with its
axis 2A directed transversally, i.e. orthogonally to the median
vertical plane of the motor-vehicle. On the fluted shaft 2 there
are mounted the hubs 3A of two pairs of legs 3 each provided with
an abutting foot 3B which is to abut against the rear part of a
motor-vehicle. In the illustrated example, each foot 3B has a body
pivotally mounted on the free end of the respective leg 3 around a
transverse axis 3C and including two foot portions 3B1 which are
spaced apart transversally from each other.
[0063] The bicycle-carrying device 1 further comprises a pair of
arms 4 which are for supporting bicycles, in a way known per se, on
a plurality of cradles 4A each provided with a flexible clamping
belt 4B. Each arm 4 also has a hub 4C which is mounted and locked
over the fluted shaft 2.
[0064] Anchoring belts 30 are associated with the four legs 3 which
are provided with feet 3B for abutment on the rear part of the
motor-vehicle, one belt being associated with each leg. Each belt
30 has one end provided with a hook member 301 which is to be
engaged on the edge of a motor-vehicle part (such as the edge of
the trunk or the rear door). On the opposite end, the anchoring
belt 30 can be wound within a roll-up device 5 (FIG. 8) carried by
a casing 50 mounted within an inner cavity 50A arranged within the
body of the respective leg 3 (see for example FIG. 6) at a position
spaced apart from axis 2A of hub 3A.
[0065] With reference to FIGS. 5-11, and in particular to FIG. 8,
the support casing 50 of each roll-up device 5 has, in the case of
the illustrated example, a base flange 501 provided with holes for
engagement of connecting screws 502 which secure said flange on the
outer surface of the respective leg 3 (see also FIG. 2). The casing
50 further comprises two parallel and spaced apart plates 503
between which there is arranged a support pin 504 constituted by
two mutually engaged pin elements 504A,504B. Pin 504 rotatably
supports a reel 51 around a winding axis 51A, for winding the
respective anchoring belt 30. A flat spiral spring 510 is arranged
within the reel 51 and is operatively interposed between said reel
and the pin 504 which is secured to casing 50, for biasing the reel
51 in the direction for winding the belt 30.
[0066] Also with reference to FIG. 8, the two opposite faces of
reel 51 carry two toothed crowns 511 (only one of which is visible
in FIG. 8) having saw-tooth-shaped teeth, forming part of a ratchet
mechanism generally designated by reference numeral 52 in FIGS.
9-11. The ratchet mechanism 52 further comprises, in the case of
the illustrated example, a pair of pawls 520 (FIG. 8) carried by a
pin 521 whose ends are secured to plates 503 within respective
holes 521A. A pin spring 522 is operatively interposed between the
assembly of the two pawls 520 and the casing 50 for biasing the two
pawls 520 towards a position for engagement of the respective
toothed crowns 511, visible in FIG. 9.
[0067] In this engagement position, the pawls 520 prevent a
rotation of the reel 51 having the toothed crowns 511 in the
direction for winding the belt 30.
[0068] On the contrary, if the reel 51 rotates in the direction for
winding the belt 30, the pawls 520 do not prevent this rotation,
but rather repeatedly jump on the toothed crowns 511, due to the
elastic bias of spring 522.
[0069] The ratchet mechanism 52 further comprises a tensioning
member 523 which in the illustrated example comprises a pair of
toothed sectors 524 in engagement with the toothed crowns 511. The
two toothed sectors 524 are rigidly connected to two parallel and
spaced apart plates 526 forming part of the body of an actuating
lever 525. The two plates 526 with toothed sectors 524 are
pivotally mounted on the ends of a pin 527 (see FIG. 8) which
project from the body of a link member 528.
[0070] The link member 528 is pivotally mounted on a pin 529 whose
ends are secured to plates 503 of the casing 50 within holes 529A.
A pin spring 530 is operatively interposed between the link member
528 and the casing 50 for biasing the link member 528 towards a
position in which the toothed sectors 529 are in engagement on the
respective toothed crowns 511 (see FIG. 9). With reference to FIG.
9, also the teeth of the toothed sectors 524 are saw-tooth-shaped
teeth and are arranged so that, in the condition of engagement of
sectors 524 on the toothed crowns 511, the sectors 524 prevent a
rotation of reel 51 in the direction for unwinding the belt 30.
[0071] Also with reference to FIG. 9, the link member 528 has a
nose 528A projecting beyond the articulation pin 529 and adapted to
cooperate with a cross-member 520A which connects the two pawls 520
to each other, in a way that will be described in the
following.
[0072] The operation of the above described roll-up device is as
follows.
[0073] With reference to FIG. 9, when the pawls 520 and the toothed
sectors 524 are in their rest condition, they are both in
engagement with the respective toothed crowns 511 of the reel 51.
If the hook member 301 of the belt 30 is already in engagement on a
motor-vehicle part, the belt 30 can be tensioned by winding the
belt within the respective roll-up device 51 to the necessary
extent. To this end, the actuating lever 525 is repeatedly moved
from the rest position shown in FIG. 9 to a first operative
position, or tensioning position, which is shown in FIG. 10.
Following this rotation, the toothed sectors 524 rotate around the
axes of the respective pin 527 causing a rotation of the reel 51 in
the winding direction of the belt. This rotation takes place while
causing the repeated jumping of pawls 520 on the toothed crowns
511. Once the belt 30 has been tensioned, a stable anchoring of the
bicycle-carrying device on the motor-vehicle is obtained.
[0074] In this condition, spring 110 would be free to further wind
the belt 30, but it is not able to do so, since it is contrasted by
the tension of the belt.
[0075] With reference to FIG. 11, the actuating lever 525 has a
second operative position, or release position, rotated in the
opposite direction with respect to the tensioning position (i.e. in
a clockwise direction with reference to the figure) starting from
the neutral rest position. In this release position, lever 525
causes rotation of the link member 528 around the respective fixed
pin 529, with the consequence that nose 528A presses on the
cross-member 520A of the pawls 520 thus keeping them disengaged
from the toothed crowns 511. In this condition, if the hook member
301 is disengaged from the motor-vehicle, the belt 30 is quickly
retracted within the roll-up device, due to the biasing action of
spring 510. In this condition, also the toothed sectors 524 are
disengaged from the toothed crowns 511, so that they do not prevent
the free winding of the belt.
[0076] The operative release position of the lever 525 which is
shown in FIG. 11, in which the rotation of reel 51 is free, can be
exploited also during the mounting stage of the device, since the
user can start by engaging the hook members 301 of two legs 3 of
device 1 over the motor-vehicle and then he can manually position
the bicycle-carrying device on the motor-vehicle while holding the
two respective actuating levers 525 pressed in the position shown
in FIG. 11. In this manner, the user can cause the free unwinding
of belts 30 from the respective roll-up devices, while
progressively moving the bicycle-carrying device away from the
anchoring points of the hook members 301. When the desired length
of belts 30 is reached, the user can release the two actuating
levers 525 which thus return to the position shown in FIG. 9,
locking the respective roll-up devices. At this moment, the user
can engage also the remaining two anchoring belts on the
motor-vehicle and finally he can attend to tensioning each of the
four anchoring belts 30 by repeated movements of the actuating
levers 525 between the position shown in FIG. 9 and the position
shown in FIG. 10.
[0077] Naturally, while the roll-up device 5 has been illustrated
in an example comprising two toothed crowns 511 cooperating with
two pawls 520 and two toothed sectors 524, in principle it is
possible to provide a single toothed crown cooperating with a
single pawl and a single toothed sector.
[0078] With reference to FIG. 7, with each roll-up device 5 there
is associated a key-operated release-inhibition device, comprising
a cylinder lock 83 which controls the movement of a locking member
84 between a rest position and an active position, in which it
inhibits a movement of said actuating lever 525 towards the release
position. A non-authorized release of the belts is thus prevented,
once the bicycle-carrying device has been mounted and locked on the
motor-vehicle.
[0079] According to a further feature, each belt (made for example
of fabric or synthetic material) is reinforced with a plurality of
cables made of steel, preferably zinc-plated steel, having an
anti-collision and an anti-cut function.
[0080] With reference to FIGS. 6, 6A, the roll-up device has two
outlets 550 and 551 located on two opposite faces of the respective
leg, which can be used selectively for guiding the belt or cable
pulled out from said roll-up device respectively adjacent to one or
the other of said opposite faces. In the condition of use shown in
FIG. 6A, in which the belt is adjacent to the lower face of the leg
(with reference to the figure), the belt is arranged between two
portions 3B1 of the foot 3B, so that once the respective hook 301
is engaged on the motor-vehicle, the belt 30 opposes any movements
of the leg 3 along a direction transverse to the median vertical
plane of the vehicle.
[0081] FIGS. 12-14 show the clamping device which is preferably
associated with hubs 3A,4C of each leg 3 and each arm 4, for
clamping each hub on the fluted shaft 2. The figures refer in
particular to the case of a leg 3. In this figures, the clamping
device associated with each hub 3A comprises a jaw 60 pivotally
mounted around an axis 61 on the body of leg 3 and having teeth 62
for engagement on the outer fluted surface of the transverse shaft
2. The clamping device 6 further comprises a locking lever 63
pivotally mounted around an axis 64 on the body of leg 3 and
carrying (in the case of the illustrated example, in one piece with
lever 63) a cam member 65 for pressing jaw 60 against shaft 2. The
locking lever 63 is movable between a release position, visible in
FIG. 13, and a locking position, visible in FIG. 12, in which the
cam member 65 has passed a dead centre position, which prevents an
undesired return of the locking lever 63 to the release position.
Also with reference to FIGS. 12-14, between the cooperating
surfaces of the cam member 65 and locking jaw 60 there is
interposed an intermediate wedge-like member 66.
[0082] As shown in FIG. 14, in the release position of lever 63,
the intermediate wedge-like member 63 can be advanced or retracted
in its position interposed between said elements, to enable an
adjustment of the clamping force. In order to obtain a precise
reference of the mounting position of the wedge-like intermediate
member 66, the surfaces of member 66 and locking jaw 60 which are
in contact with each other have parallel micro indentations.
[0083] Although the example illustrated herein makes use of a
fluted shaft 2 and the jaw 60 has teeth cooperating with the fluted
surface of the shaft, it is not excluded that the shaft has a
non-fluted surface, such as a surface having a high friction
coefficient cooperating with a jaw surface which also is made with
a high friction coefficient.
[0084] With reference to FIG. 15, at least one of the arms 4
carries inside therein a metal cable 7, which can be pulled out
from the arm, having an anti-theft function, this cable having a
free end with a fork-like shape 70. Cable 7 can be arranged around
a frame element of a bicycle carried on the bicycle-carrying
device, after which the fork-shaped end 70 can be received within a
seat 71 formed in the free end of arm 4 and locked therein by means
of a locking member 72 controlled by a rotatable cylinder of a
cylinder lock 73, operable by a key.
[0085] The bicycle-carrying device according to the invention is
further provided with members for opposing an oscillation
(anti-sway members) of the transported bicycles, which are
constituted by supports 8 associated with the arms 4 (see FIGS. 1
and 4) and provided with respective clamping belts. According to a
preferred feature of the invention, each anti-sway member is
adjustable in position due to a threaded coupling.
[0086] Naturally, while the principle of the invention remains the
same, the details of construction and the embodiments may widely
vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely
by way of example, without departing from the scope of the present
invention.
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